This invention relates to a traffic data collecting or accumulating arrangement for a communication network which comprises a plurality of exchanges and administering or traffic file center.
A traffic data collecting arrangement of the type described, is already known. For example, a telecommunication network with such a facility is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,543 issued to Samuel J. Kline et al.
In such a traffic data collecting arrangement, an optional one of the exchanges of the network is similar in operation to others of the exchanges insofar as this invention is concerned. Attention will therefore be directed mainly to only one of the exchanges that will very often be referred to simply as an exchange in the following.
For a conventional traffic data collecting arrangement, the exchange comprises a monitoring arrangement for carrying out monitoring or measurement of traffic data of the exchange from time to time as monitored data according to items used in the monitoring. The monitored data are temporarily stored in a traffic data memory. Periodically, such as hourly, a modem transmits the memorized data to the administrating center through a data link of the network as transmitted traffic data.
The administrating center includes modems for the respective exchanges of the network. In this manner, the exchange and the administrating center comprise units or elements which are similarly named. Moreover, the exchange and the administrating center deal with data or items which have like names. The units and the data of the exchange will therefore be called with the word "exchange" used as a modifier. Likewise, the units and the data of the administrating center will be called with the word "center" used as another modifier.
The administrating center comprises a traffic data log file. The center modems receive the transmitted traffic data from the exchanges of the network as received traffic data. The traffic data log file is for accumulating the received traffic data as accumulated traffic data together with dates and time of reception of the transmitted traffic data as the received traffic data. The dates and time are for later use of the accumulated traffic data.
Although the exchanges of the network are similarly operable, the items may differ for a certain exchange from others. A change is not seldom in the items for which the traffic data should be monitored at each exchange. The memorized data have therefore been transmitted as the transmitted traffic data in a conventional traffic data collecting arrangement together with the items in each instance of transmission. This results in an increased amount of data transmission. The data link is rendered busy during a long holding time. The administrating center is undesirably given a low capability of accumulating the received data as the accumulated data.